More than 4,300 photos of bumblebees were sent to the hotline this year to have the species identified. Experts also discovered very rare specimens that are threatened with extinction.
Who is that flying in the garden? The Bund Naturschutz and the Institute for Biodiversity Information (IfBI) registered great interest in their “Hummel hotline” this year – even though the weather was unfavorable and cool. More than 4,300 photos were sent in, as project manager Martina Gehret said on Thursday, according to the announcement. Anyone who sent a bumblebee photo between March 20th and April 10th received information shortly afterwards about which bumblebee species they had photographed. Around 3,200 photos were received in roughly the same period last year.
The most frequently sighted bumblebee species this year was by far the ground bumblebee, followed by the meadow bumblebee, stone bumblebee and tree bumblebee. Gehret said they were particularly happy about the twelve reported colored bumblebees and eight variable bumblebees discovered: “Both species are on the red list in Bavaria. The colored bumblebee is on the early warning list and the variable bumblebee has been considered endangered since 2021.” The main reasons for the decline in bumblebees are a lack of nesting opportunities and a lack of food in the form of pollen and nectar.